Received 1099G for deceased mom for year 2020 in year 2022 do I need to claim?

[ThomasM125]

The only thing you could do is amend her 2020 tax return to report the income.

[robbcfd]

The 1099 was addressed to the Estate of Mary Taylor, does that matter?

[JamesG1]

If your mother was alive in 2020, amend her IRS Federal 1040 tax return.

If your mother died in 2021 or after, file or amend an IRS Federal 1041 estate tax return.

@robbcfd 

[robbcfd]

She passed away 5/29/20. Her accountant did her taxes that year but did not file a form 1310 to get the state refund from Maryland. I finally filed the form 1310 in December of 2021 and the refund was finally issued in January of 2022. I do not understand why I have to amend the return of a deceased person to possibly get another refund! The 1099G was addressed to the estate of Mary Taylor now the form 1310 has my ss# that is why I am asking if I have to claim it.

[AmyC]

It may not be income to you and not taxable. Let's back up - 1099-G for what? Either state refund, gambling, or unemployment.

The only logical thing is the estate received her state refund. 

See Publication 559 (2022), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators which states:

Character of income.

The character of the income you receive in respect of a decedent remains the same as it would have been to the decedent if the decedent were alive. If the income would have been a capital gain to the decedent, it will be a capital gain to you.

Therefore, if the state refund would not have been taxable to the deceased, it is not taxable to you.

If my assumption of state refund is not correct, please reply with more information.

[robbcfd]

Yes it was a state refund

[JulieS]

Yes, as AmyC points out this may not be taxable at all. 

If you have your mother's 2020 tax return, check to see if she filed Schedule A in her federal return. If that is no Schedule A, it is not taxable. You should keep the form with her records, but you don't have to claim it.

If there is a Schedule A, then the refund may be taxable. Since the check was payable to the estate of Mary Taylor, if there is still an open estate, the 1099-G would be reported as income to the estate.

If there was no formal estate, or if it is no longer open, the income is reported by the beneficiary, which I assume is you. If that is the case, you would add this 1099-G to your tax return and go through the steps to determine if it is taxable. 

This is how to do that in TurboTax:

1. Open the return and select Federal on the left side menu, then Wages & Income.
2. Scroll down the list and find the section called Other Common Income, expand the section. 
3. Click Start or Revisit to the right of Refunds Received for State/Local Tax Returns.
4. On the screen titled, State and Local Tax Refund Summary, click + Add state or local refund.
5. The next few screens will ask you for information from the  1099-G.
6. Refer to your mother's 2020 tax return for the answers to the follow up questions. 
7. Keep going until you get to the screen that tells you whether it is taxable.